The (Comic) Book Was Better - Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

We’ve all heard it.  Heck, we’ve all said it—“That movie was good/bad/okay/fantastic/the worst piece of dreck ever put on film… but the book was better.”  In this new review series, I am going to be looking at movies (or TV episodes, though the emphasis will be on DC’s series of animated films) and the comic books/graphic novels that inspired them to determine which one told the story better.  I won’t really be comparing them per se, because otherwise you could probably narrow it all down to “the cartoon cut too much stuff out”—I’ll just be judging each version on its own merits as if I have never seen/read the other version, and we’ll see how this works. Today’s subject: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies!

The Incredibles

After all the rage from last month’s reviews, I figured it’d be therapeutic to start March by writing about something fun, and let’s face it—if there are two companies that know how to make fun movies, they’re Disney and Pixar.  In 2004, in the wake of the wildly winning Finding Nemo, they brought their formidable fun-making forces to the world of superheroes.  The result?  The Incredibles, which ended up netting another few bajillion dollars for its creators.  Was it deserved?  I think we all know the answer to that, but let’s take a look anyway.

Nightwing #99-#100

So far, we have seen:

Tarantula become an honorary member of the Bat-Club.

A lot of scenes that have nothing to do with the storyline.

That Batman still has no clue that Nightwing was raped.

Ditto for Robin.

Ditto for Oracle, but she’s such a catty witch that she probably wouldn’t care anyway.

More scenes that have nothing to do with the storyline.

Nightwing get shot and collapse on a fire escape.

And now, the conclusion to our categorically creepy and contemptible chronicle!

Nightwing #97-#98

So far, we have seen:

Tarantula being creepy.

Tarantula being an idiot.

Tarantula being a manipulative #@*&.

Tarantula being a stalker.

Look, Tarantula just isn’t a very nice person, okay?!

Pointless stuff about side characters who have no relevance to this story arc.

Batman giving Tarantula free run of Gotham City because… he’s been brainwashed?  Yes, yes I’m sure that’s what happened…

And now, more of the exact same thing!  Huzzah!

Nightwing #95-#96

So far, we have seen:

Blockbuster, a.k.a. Captain Obvious, threaten our hero’s loved ones.

Nightwing have a nervous breakdown and allow wannabe vigilante Tarantula to shoot Blockbuster in the face.

Even though anyone with the IQ of an old boot could have come up with about a dozen alternative ways of handling the situation.

In the first five seconds.

Tarantula rape our near-catatonic hero.

Yes, really.

Tarantula continue to control and manipulate Nightwing in the name of true love.

Which makes everything totally okay, didn’t you know that?

Nightwing too depressed and guilty to tell even his closest friends what has happened.

Tarantula about to be on the painful end of a well-deserved walloping at the fangs of Copperhead.

And now, back to our show.

Nightwing #93-#94

Happy February, everyone!  Whenever I think of February, my thoughts immediately turn to Valentines’ Day, the holiday commemorating love, romance, and expensive chocolates (mmm, Godiva…).  And seeing as how February is the only month with such a romantic holiday as its centerpiece, I figured it’d be appropriately ironic to spend this month discussing something I loathe with the force of a rather large exploding planet. 

(Not to give anything away here, but I feel I should warn you—if you think you will react negatively to depictions and discussions of rape, you may want to steer clear of this blog until March.)

Batman, Season One

Ah, the sixties Batman series.  Most superhero dorks have probably at least heard of it, even if only in the context of “that show that made nobody take comics SERIOUSLY anymore.” Because, as we all know, comic books were serious business in the 1960s.  By the way, have you been to the World of 1,000 Olsens?  Lovely this time of year.  Just don’t make eye contact with the locals.